You reach into the weakest moments (And remind me that I'm strong)
by thegirl20
Summary: Some missing scenes around the chickenpox saga. Charity x Vanessa (September 2019)
1. Friday

As the day wears on, Charity feels progressively more tired. And not just the normal tired you get from running errands and doing stuff. This is a different tired; like her bones are aching and all she wants to do is lie down on the couch and sleep for a month or so. Not that she'll get the chance with two little monsters running around, hyper from being locked up all day. But she did promise Vanessa she'd go home and take over, so she drags herself back to Tug Ghyll.

Walking up the path, she notices that she's sweating, even though it's not a particularly nice day. Her legs feel heavy and foreign, like someone's put weights in her boots. The couple of bags she's carrying could have bowling balls in them for all she knows. She's never been so glad to reach this door before. Actually, that's probably a lie. All them times she snuck over here to see Vanessa in the early days were pretty great. And all the times after that, if she's honest. She used to be glad to see this door pretty often, when she thinks about it. It meant the rest of the world was gone, left behind, and she could just be with Vanessa.

She shoves the door open and staggers into the living room, leaning on the back of the armchair for support. She rests back against the wall, her legs now feeling like they might actually give way since she's reached a place of sanctuary.

"Oh, babe, I don't know what's up with me, but I need some paracetamol and I need it now." When there's no answer, she turns to find both Vanessa and Tracy looking at her in vague horror. She must look terrible. "Oh, God. What?"

Tracy just blinks at her, but Vanessa speaks. "I thought you said you'd had chickenpox."

She looks between them, hoping one of them is going to break into laughter any second. They don't.

"You're kidding me on." Charity brings a hand up to touch her face, it's damp for starters, but soon enough her fingers encounter several bumps where there aren't usually any. "Oh, no, no, no." She drops her purchases, using both hands to probe her face. "No, this isn't happening."

"Uh, I think you'll find it is," Tracy says, and she's got the cheek to be smirking.

She's not even got the energy to give Tracy the evils. Instead she turns her attention to Vanessa. "Babe, I've had the chickenpox. I'm _sure _I have!"

Vanessa stands and smacks Tracy's shoulder with the back of her hand, sending her the glare Charity should have done. She comes over and puts her hand on Charity's forehead. Vanessa's skin is smooth and cool and Charity presses into it, seeking out the relief.

"You've definitely got a temperature," Vanessa says, taking Charity's chin between her thumb and forefinger, turning her face from side to side. She makes a sympathetic hissing noise that does not fill Charity with confidence about how she looks. "Yeah, and those are definitely chickenpox." She lets go of Charity's face and tilts her eyebrows in sympathy. "I _think _you can get it more than once?"

"Doesn't it go into shingles for adults?" Tracy pipes up. "I've heard that's really painful."

"Oh, shut up, Brenda," Charity spits. She raises her eyebrows at Vanessa, waiting for her to back her up. It takes longer than it should, but Vanessa eventually gets that there's something expected of it and nods.

"That's not helpful, Trace." She turns back to Charity and shrugs. "But she's not wrong. So we need to keep a close eye on you."

Charity's face falls. "Oh God. Can you die of shingles?"

"No, no. Don't be daft. No." Vanessa shakes her head, herding her over to the couch. From the side of her eye, Charity sees Vanessa make a face at Tracy like she's not actually sure of her assertion. Too tired to care, Charity drops onto the sofa, mumbling complaints when Vanessa helps her out of her jacket. "Oh."

"What?" Charity looks up at her quickly. "What is it?"

Dragging her eyes up, Vanessa smiles and pats her shoulder. "I'll, uh, get the cream we've been putting on the boys, shall I?"

She looks down at her arms. If her face is anything like them, it's a wonder Vanessa didn't run for the hills the second she walked in. And now she can see them, one by one, the little buggers start to itch until her arms feel like they're on fire. She rubs at one arm, then the other, but that only makes it worse and she _has _to use her nails.

"Hey, hey!" Tracy grabs hold of her hands and pulls them away, taking with them the relief she'd _just _started to feel. Tracy shakes her head, keeping firm hold on her hands. "You can't scratch."

"I can, and I will." She tries to remove her hands from Tracy's, but she's too weak. Or Tracy's too strong. One or the other. She tries her best to look intimidating, which she's usually brilliant at. When that fails, she goes for plaintive.

"Don't be giving me them big sad eyes," Tracy says, with a shake of her head. "I'm not Vanessa. They don't work on me."

"_Ness_," Charity whines. "Tell her to let me go."

"She's right," Vanessa says, coming back over with calamine lotion and cotton wool. "You shouldn't scratch."

"Stop agreeing with her all the time," Charity snaps and then closes her eyes when Moses screeches something at Johnny. "And can somebody gag them two? My head's banging."

Vanessa nudges Tracy with her knee. "Can you take the boys upstairs and start to get them ready for bed? I'll get Charity sorted then come up and help."

Tracy leans in and narrows her eyes. "When I let go, don't start scratching."

Charity shakes her head. "I won't."

Once her hands are freed, they immediately fly to her arms and resume scratching. Tracy huffs. "Well, don't come crying to me when you're covered in scars."

Vanessa takes her place on the couch as she goes over and persuades the boys to go upstairs with her. Far more gently than Tracy had, Vanessa peels her hands away and presses them into her lap.

"Keep them there, okay?" Vanessa smiles hopefully and she finds herself nodding, despite her arms screaming at her. "This'll help with the itching." Vanessa turns the bottle of lotion upside down onto a cotton wool ball and then dabs it against Charity's chest. She actually _moans _at how wonderful and cool it feels.

"Oh, yes, babe." She lets her head fall back as Vanessa undoes the buttons on her blouse and slips it off her shoulders. "Can we just fill the bath with that stuff, d'you think?"

Vanessa chuckles. "Let's just stick with the cotton wool method for now, eh?"

She continues to methodically apply the lotion, finishing off with Charity's face. When she's done, the fire's been put out at least temporarily. Vanessa goes to stand up, but Charity catches her arm, looking up at her. "Thanks, babe. That feels amazing."

Nodding, Vanessa picks up the used cotton wool along with the bottle. "Good. I'm just gonna grab you a couple of paracetamol and then I'll go upstairs and give Tracy a hand with the gruesome twosome."

Charity watches Vanessa cross into the kitchen and fill a glass from the tap. Her heart lurches in her chest, unexpectedly. "I'm sorry."

When Vanessa turns to her, it's with a confused frown. "Sorry? What for?" She comes back over, holding out two pills and the glass, which Charity takes from her, throwing the pills back her throat and taking a glug of water to wash them down. She sags back onto the sofa when Vanessa takes the glass and sets it on the table. "Charity, what are you saying sorry for?"

"'Cause here you are, taking care of me _again_." She shrugs. "And not just me. Everybody." Her throat starts to throb and she sniffs. "Sorry, I'm-"

"Feeling a bit sorry for yourself?" Vanessa asks, with a kind smile. "That's allowed."

"No, but-"

"But nothing," Vanessa cuts her off. "You've taken care of me plenty. And you will do again, no doubt." She smiles. "In sickness and in health, yeah?"

Charity laughs. "Let's see if you're still saying that tomorrow when the three of us are driving you mental."

"Oh, I will b-"

Tracy's voice interjects from upstairs. "V! Can you bring up the calamine lotion? I've missed a couple of spots on Johnny's bum." This is followed by uproarious giggles from the little ones and Vanessa sighs.

"Better head up there." She leans in, pursing her lips to kiss Charity's forehead, but Charity dips out of the way.

"Don't be daft!" she scolds. "D'you wanna catch it an'all?"

Vanessa laughs. "Charity, if I'm going to get it, I'm going to get it. I've been with the boys as much as you have. _And _I've been with you. A little kiss isn't going to make any difference." She leans in again, this time her lips make contact with Charity's cheek. She pulls back and points at Charity. "Right, no scratching while I'm gone, okay? Promise?"

Feeling better than she has all day, Charity lifts an eyebrow. "How about I promise I won't scratch if you promise not to let Tracy check my bum for spots."

Laughing again, Vanessa stands up and drops another kiss on her head. "I think that'll be my job."

Charity winks. "Always, kid."


	2. Monday

As Sarah flounces down the road, all the fight goes out of Charity. This is what she _didn't _want to happen. She never wanted her relationship with Sarah to go the same way as her relationship with Debbie; where everything's a battle and old wounds run deep.

"Well," Faith begins, turning to Charity with her arms folded. "Looks like one word from you and she does what she likes."

"Uh, excuse me." Charity flings an oven gloved hand out in the direction Sarah had taken. "None of this would even be an issue if you'd just done what you were supposed to and kept an eye on her."

"Oh, so it's all my fault, is it?" Faith tilts her head. "Aren't you the one Debbie left in charge?"

"I'm incapacitated!" Charity rubs at her arms, reminded of her own plight. "And I only let you stay with us to help out with the kids!"

"Look," Vanessa interjects. "I don't think playing the blame game is going to help anyone right now, is it?" She comes over and gently pulls Charity's hands away, wrapping both of her arms around Charity's left one. She's trying to make out it's an affectionate gesture, but it's really just to stop her from scratching; Charity's not daft. "Faith, can you see if you can track Sarah down and I'll get this one over the road for a rest?"

Faith purses her lips. "S'pose so." She makes a point of addressing her next words only to Vanessa. "Since you asked nicely."

Charity narrows her eyes. "Keep this up and I'll ask you to sling your hook. And I won't be asking nicely, either."

Before Faith can respond, Vanessa's pulling Charity away, calling over her shoulder. "Thanks Faith! Tell Sarah we'll Facetime her in a little while, okay?"

"Will do. Can't promise she'll pick up, mind."

Charity sighs. "This is the _last_ thing I need right now." She uses her free hand to rub at her head. The ones in her hair are the worst.

"I know, I'm sorry." Vanessa's cheek presses against her upper arm as they walk. "Maybe I should've left you out of it and just dealt with it myself."

"Oh yeah, that'd have gone down a treat if she'd told her mother," Charity says, letting Vanessa walk ahead of her up the path to Tug Ghyll.

When Vanessa gets to the front door she turns and lifts her eyebrows. "Ready for the mayhem?"

Shaking her head, Charity sighs. "I'm really not, babe." She tugs one of the oven gloves off and properly scratches her head for a few seconds before Vanessa pulls it away. She looks up at her, making her eyes as sad as possible. "Can't we just run away somewhere? Preferably somewhere with a swimming pool filled with calamine lotion?"

"I wish." Vanessa gives her a tight smile and opens the door. Surprisingly, they're greeted by silence. Vanessa looks back at her, confused. "Have we come to the wrong house?"

"I can't keep up with where we're living at the moment," Charity mumbles. "So it's a possibility."

When they get into the living room, they find Moses, Johnny and Tracy sat at the table together, drawing happily. And, Charity notes with gratitude, quietly. Tracy looks up and smiles at them.

"Sarah okay?"

Charity looks over at Vanessa and finds her looking back. They both shrug.

"She's probably a bit mad at us right now," Vanessa says, taking off her jacket. "I think we embarrassed her in front of her friend."

"Friend?" Charity demands, allowing Vanessa to pull that bloody oven glove back onto her hand. "You don't need to sneak away to graveyards to meet your friends, babe."

"Oh." Tracy nods. "There's a little teenage romance in the offing, then?"

Vanessa winces. "Maybe not after Charity yelled at her and grounded her in front of him."

Tracy covers her mouth and Charity glares, daring her to laugh. She gets herself under control enough to remove her hand. "Poor Sarah. I'd have died if my Granny'd shouted at me in front of a boy I liked when I was her age."

Letting her head fall back on her shoulders, Charity sighs at the ceiling. "I'm having a bad enough day without people constantly using the 'G' word, thank you very much."

"Not keen on G words, are you?" Vanessa's hands land on her hips, shifting her out of the way as she makes her way over to look at whatever the boys have drawn. "You avoided 'girlfriend' for a while an'all."

"And look where _that _got me," Charity huffs, flopping down onto the couch, closing her eyes and trying to block out the noise of Vanessa and Tracy cooing over the drawings which she's sure are terrible. Moses is a shocking drawer and Johnny's no better.

"So, boys, how about we go upstairs and get the two of you in the bath, eh?"

She cracks open one eye upon hearing Tracy's suggestion, expecting the little animals to protest and start running around again. To her amazement, they don't.

"Can we have loads of bubbles? Like last night?" Moses asks, getting down off his chair.

"And can you do the dinosaur story again?" Johnny pipes up, taking Tracy's hand as they head for the stairs.

"We _can _have loads of bubbles and we _can _have the dinosaur story again," Tracy says, winking at Charity as she passes. "But only if you get up them stairs before I've finished counting to five, yeah?" She takes in a huge breath. "Ooooonnneeeee-" They both scramble up the stairs, reaching the top before she's even got to two. She laughs. "Right, here I come!"

Tracy thunders up after them, their laughter joining her own. Vanessa moves to the foot of the stairs, smiling softly.

"Why didn't you tell me she was a kiddie whisperer?" Charity asks. "We could have had her living with us instead of Faith."

Vanessa looks over with a gently reproachful expression. "I think this has done her good, actually," she says. "Having the boys around has given her something to focus on other than dad." Her mouth twists into something decidedly more wicked. "And I've seen her laugh more at your antics these last couple of days than I have in a month."

"Antics?" Charity gasps. "She's been taking pleasure in my suffering, you mean?"

"Well, however you want to put it, it's been nice to see her smile again." Vanessa's hand comes to rest on Charity's forehead from behind the couch. "I don't think you're as hot as you were before."

Charity hides a smile. "Well, you certainly know how to kick a girl when she's down, eh?"

"You're dead funny, you," Vanessa says, dropping a kiss on her head and heading into the kitchen. "You know fine well I'm talking about your temperature."

"I dunno, babe," Charity says, letting her head drop to the back of the couch. "You seemed pretty quick to tell that lad earlier that I'm not usually this ugly."

"Charity Dingle, I never said the words!" Charity keeps her eyes closed and her face neutral. She's not above fishing for compliments, especially when she feels like death warmed up. "You're gorgeous, and you know it. Spots or no spots."

Something lands in her lap, making her jump. She opens her eyes and looks to see what it is, about to give Vanessa what for, but stops short when her eyes land on a huge slab of Galaxy. She looks up at Vanessa's smug face and can't help but return her smile. "Okay then, you're forgiven."

"Glad to hear it."

Vanessa sits down next to her, pressed close to her side as she removes her oven gloves and rips into the chocolate. She breaks off a couple of squares and shoves them into her mouth; the smooth, creamy substance spreads over her tongue, chasing away the taste of illness and medicine. She moans at the simple pleasure. As an afterthought, she breaks off another square and holds it up to Vanessa's lips, popping it in when she opens her mouth. Vanessa hums her thanks and they sit in silence, only broken by the rustling of the wrapper when they need more chocolate.

"It'll be okay, you know," Vanessa says, after a while. "Sarah's a sensible kid. She'll come around."

"Will she?" Charity sighs, resting her head against Vanessa's. "I-" She swallows, fingers picking absently at a spot on her wrist. Vanessa's hand comes to cover hers, pulling it away and holding it. "I'd just hoped that maybe she wouldn't end up the same as me and her mum. That she'd be better than-"

"Oi." Vanessa jostles her until she looks at her. "You _know_ I hate it when you talk about yourself like that."

"Like what?" She shrugs, returning her attention to the half empty chocolate wrapper. "Telling the truth, you mean? Pregnant twice by the time I was Sarah's age?"

"You didn't have what Sarah has, Charity." A gentle hand turns her face around and she's met with nothing but love and compassion. She used to try and shield herself from it. Now she's drawn in by it, knowing it to be genuine. Vanessa continues. "You had nobody to love you and guide you and protect you like she has. And you _still _made it through, despite all that." She leans in closer, bumping her forehead against Charity's. "Because you're amazing. And if Sarah's _anything_ like you, then that's no bad thing."

Charity shakes her head, not bothering to hide her smile. "Only you could try and turn an afternoon where my granddaughter was caught sneaking around in a cemetery with a lad into something positive."

Vanessa laughs softly at that. "Listen, she's a teenage girl. Teenage girls are gonna sneak around with teenage boys." She tilts her head. "I could tell you some stories about me and Kenny Marlowe in the bushes down the local park when I was-"

Charity puts a finger over Vanessa's lips, shaking her head. "Babe, how is telling me things about other people getting to put their hands on you going to make this hellish day any better?"

"Awwww, you're not jealous, are you?" Vanessa kisses her finger.

"Eh? Of Kenny Marlowe feeling you up when you were fourteen?" Charity rolls her eyes. "Hardly. Even if _we've_ not had a decent fumble in-"

"Two whole nights," Vanessa cuts in with a smile. She rests her head on Charity's shoulder, threading their fingers together.

"Feels longer." Charity smothers a yawn, letting her eyes drift closed. "You know, I must really be ill, babe. Else I'd have made at least three filthy comments about bushes by now."

Vanessa turns her face into Charity's shoulder to cover her own yawn. "Well, when you're feeling better, I'll let you feel me up wherever you fancy. Okay?"

Charity smirks. "Deal."


	3. Tuesday

"Oh, wow. That poor kid. I never even-" Vanessa covers her mouth and shakes her head.

Charity's just finished relating her conversation with Sarah on the bridge and Vanessa's just as shocked as she had been. No teenager should have to look at life that way. Even on her darkest days, locked in that flat with Bails, Charity knew that if she could just get away from him, she had her life ahead of her to make things better. Sarah has no such guarantee. She's had far too many brushes with death already, and there's no telling when the next time will be, or if she'll get through it.

"I know, babe." Charity sighs, rubbing her face. "I know."

"I just-" Vanessa lifts her hands, only to let them drop uselessly to her sides. "I thought she'd want to be treated like everybody else. Not singled out. But I never considered that this was how she saw things."

"Me neither." Charity pushes herself into the back of the sofa, shifting her shoulders from side to side, trying to get some friction against what feels like a million spots on her back. "I think we're all guilty of breathing a sigh of relief after the heart transplant. It went so well that we forgot she still-"

She stops, unwilling to say the words and closing her eyes to fight the burn. The couch dips beside her and an arm wraps around her shoulders. She leans into the offered comfort, pressing her face into the soft warmth of Vanessa's neck, inhaling deeply to try and steady herself. This is why she tries not to think about Sarah's condition or her future. Because as soon as she does, it feels impossible to just carry on with things like everything's normal. How can you, when your grandkid's living with a timebomb strapped to her back?

Vanessa presses a kiss to her hair, leaving her nose buried there. It feels selfish to sit there drowning in the solace of Vanessa's arms, but she can't think of a single thing to do or say to make Sarah's situation any better or counter her world view. There's nothing she can say to make it better or show Sarah that she's wrong. That's the worst of it; she's right.

Vanessa's thumb has been rhythmically stroking the back of her neck, soothing her almost to the point of falling asleep, when it stops. She feels the change in Vanessa's body that accompanies it; her muscles tensing and readying themselves to do something. Sitting up, she looks at her and sure enough, there's determination shining like blue steel from her eyes.

Sighing, Charity lifts her eyebrows. "Dare I even ask?"

"No, I was just thinking-" Vanessa begins, biting her lip and getting up. Charity watches her cross over to the desk and retrieve her iPad before returning to her seat. "Now that we know why she's acting up, maybe we can do something about it."

"Eh?" Charity rolls her eyes. "Listen, babe, I know you're always saving hamsters and puppies and whatever, but that doesn't actually mean you're allowed to fiddle about with human medicine."

That earns her a glare and a sharp shake of the head. "No, well, obviously we can't do anything about her health. But we _might_ be able to do something about this thing with Danny." Vanessa shrugs. "Then she'd know we were listening to how she was feeling, at least."

Charity frowns. "And what is it you're actually suggesting here?" She glances at where Vanessa's fingers are flying over the surface of the tablet, pulling up Facebook of all things.

"Well, I was thinking we could try and find this lad and invite him over for tea or something?" Vanessa turns to her with hopeful eyes. "That way we could keep an eye on things and she wouldn't be running off to meet him in the cemetery, getting up to God knows what."

While her first instinct is to say 'no', it does melt her heart a little bit that Vanessa's doing her usual thing of trying to fix the situation. She's always so practical, thinking of things that can be _done _instead of sitting around moping and feeling sorry for herself.

"And how do you propose we find him, Sherlock?" Charity leans in closer, resting her chin on Vanessa's shoulder. "Googling 'young fit lads called Danny in Hotten' is only gonna land you in a cell with Maya."

Vanessa's head spins around and suddenly they're nose to nose. And Vanessa is _not _amused. Charity used to make the odd joke here and there about Vanessa having a thing for teenage lads. That all had to stop after she spilled her guts about Bails. Even though Charity had assured Vanessa, multiple times, that she was _nothing_ like him.

"That's not funny," Vanessa says.

"I know. I'm sorry." Charity scratches at her head. "I wasn't thinking."

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Vanessa nods. "Well, I'll let you off 'cause you're not well." She turns back to the tablet. "And stop scratching."

Charity tries to let her sigh of relief out slowly, nestling against Vanessa and turning her attention to her screen again. She's on Sarah's Facebook page, scrolling through her list of friends. "Do kids still use Facebook these days? Isn't it all Snapfaxing and...what's that other one? Something to do with drinking."

"Tumblr," Vanessa mumbles. "I have no idea how either of those works, so I'm hoping she's got him on-" She stops scrolling, her finger hovering. "Aha! Found him!"

Charity checks the name and rolls her eyes; she'd been half hoping they wouldn't find him. Then they wouldn't need to go through with this and Sarah might never need to see the little beggar again. "You found him on Facebook, babe. It's hardly CSI: Emmerdale, is it?"

Ignoring this, Vanessa clicks onto his page, which seems to be mostly private. Even though Charity knows that's totally sensible, she can't help but think he's hiding something. Probably loads of pictures of himself rat-arsed and groping girls. Vanessa clicks on the link to send him a private message, opening up the dialogue box. Her fingers pause over the tablet's keyboard.

"Right." She nudges Charity gently. "So, what do we say?"

Charity huffs. "How am I supposed to know? This was all your bright idea."

Vanessa lets out a sigh, and starts typing.

_Hi Danny. This is Sarah Sugden's_

She stops typing. "What should I say here? Sarah's Granny's fiancée?"

Charity shakes her head. "Bit long-winded. He'll have stopped reading halfway through that." She shrugs. "Just say Grannies. If he sticks around, we can take him through the family tree properly at some point down the line."

"Maybe you could do that with me an'all?" Vanessa says with a nod. "I'm still not sure how Mandy fits in."

Charity laughs. "Fits in? Mandy sticks out like a sore thumb, babe. Always has."

Vanessa shakes her head and resumes typing.

_Hi Danny. This is Sarah Sugden's Grannies. We met yesterday. We were hoping we could have a little chat about what happened and-_

Charity reaches out and stops her from typing. "That sounds like we're going to take him to some remote location and kneecap him."

"So help me!" Vanessa whines. "I'm rubbish at all this stuff."

With a sigh, Charity lifts her eyes to the ceiling. "Look, if he genuinely likes her, then three mad women yelling at him shouldn't be enough to put him off. If he really likes her, he'll be willing to risk our wrath to see her again." She closes her eyes. "Just apologise to him and ask him if he wants to see her again. We'll go from there."

She feels movement as Vanessa types something out. "Right. How about that?"

She reads over the message.

_Hi Danny. This is Sarah Sugden's Grannies. We're sorry about yesterday. We should never have caused a scene like that in the street and embarrassed the pair of you. To make it up to you both, we'd like to invite you over to see Sarah again as a little surprise for her. If that's something you'd like to do, let us know and we'll arrange it. Sorry, again._

"Still sounds like you're potentially luring him to his death," Charity says. "But I don't see any way round that, so just hit send."

Vanessa does as she's told. There's a moment of silence before Vanessa speaks up. "Oh God. Do you think this might make it worse?"

"How?" Charity asks, scratching at a particularly niggling itch on her thigh. Vanessa covers her hand and lifts it away, bringing it over to cradle against her own leg.

"Well, you know what kids are like with the cyber bullying and everything. What if he-"

Their attention is drawn back to the screen where a response to the message has popped up.

_Is this a trap?_

"Told you." Charity shakes her head. "At least he's not daft."

Vanessa's already responding.

_Not a trap. Honestly. Which is probably what someone who was setting a trap would say_

Charity shakes her head. "No, babe."

Vanessa sighs and deletes the response.

_No. Just an apology and hopefully a chance for you to be mates. That's all._

"Yeah, I'm sure he's planning to be just 'mates'," Charity mutters, but nods her approval when Vanessa looks to her with her finger over the send key.

They both wait for the response this time.

_Fine. But I have to warn you that I will be telling several people where I'm going. So if you murder me, you'll get caught._

Charity laughs, begrudgingly. "Smart kid."

_Of course! Safety first! Come over after school and we'll make sure Sarah's here! She'll be so pleased to see you!_

Charity leans in close to Vanessa's ear. "Take out at least two of them exclamation marks. Got to play a _bit _hard to get on Sarah's behalf."

Vanessa rolls her eyes, but does as she's told and hits send. They get a thumbs up emoji in response this time. Vanessa sets the tablet on the coffee table and turns to Charity with a huge grin.

"So he must like her, then? Like you said." Vanessa bounces a bit on the sofa. "Oh, I can't wait to see her little face!"

"As long as she keeps it away from _his _little face, I'll be happy," Charity says.

"Oh, come on grumpy knickers." Vanessa pouts. "You'll be happy to see her smiling when she sees him. Admit it."

Thinking back to her conversation with Sarah, Charity relents. None of them have any idea how it feels to be her, and allowing her this little bit of joy is the least she can do, really.

"Okay, _fine_, whatever." Charity shoves at Vanessa. "Don't get all smug about it."

Vanessa grows sober, her hand finding Charity's and squeezing. "We still need to look after her, and take care of her. But I think, after what she said to you, that we're going to need to make sure she's _happy_, as well." Vanessa shakes her head. "That makes it sound like I don't want the rest of the kids to be happy, and that's-"

"I know what you mean, Ness." Charity smiles and plants a kiss on Vanessa's cheek. "I know."

Tilting her head, Vanessa lifts a hand to Charity's face, sweeping her thumb over her cheek a couple of times. "You know, I think your spots are crusting over."

Charity wrinkles her nose. "Wow. You really know how to make a girl feel attractive don't you?"

Smiling, Vanessa shakes her head. "It means you're not contagious anymore. It means the worst has passed."

"Really?" Charity perks up. "Oh thank God. And listen, I know I've not exactly been a model patient up till now, babe-"

Vanessa barks out a laugh. "Understatement, much?"

Charity frowns. "I was going to say _thank you_, actually, for putting up with me."

"You don't need to thank me, Charity," Vanessa says, her amusement turning to affection. "I've already said to you, that's what this relationship stuff is about; taking care of each other."

"Well, thanks anyway." Charity snuggles in against Vanessa. "Does this mean we can go back across the road?"

"Should do. The boys have already crusted over." Vanessa leans her head against Charity's. "If you're totally crusty tomorrow, we'll all move back home."

"_Or_," Charity says, drawing the word out. "We _could _leave the little'uns with Tracy for a bit longer?"

"Eh? What for?"

"Well, you said yourself she's been happier with them around." Charity's only half joking about this. "And she's brilliant with them. It'd keep her occupied."

"_Charity_."

Charity bites her lip to keep from smiling at Vanessa's stern tone. "What? It'd give you a bit of a rest, leaving them here for a day or two."

"Leaving _you _here would give me more of a rest," Vanessa mumbles, laughing when Charity pokes her stomach.

"I was only thinking of Trace," Charity says, her eyes drifting closed. "I don't want her going off and becoming a crazy cat lady at her age."

"So selfless, you are," Vanessa says, her voice giving away how tired she is. "Let's just deal with Sarah first, yeah? We can sort Tracy out another day."

Charity nods, unable to fight the weight in her eyelids any longer.


	4. Wednesday

"Just pretend they don't exist. They'll soon get bored."

Charity frowns, clicking her tongue as she spins back around to pin Sarah with her eyes. "Heard that."

Vanessa sways against her side. "Yeah, I get the feeling you were meant to."

Charity's still glaring at them when the cup is removed from her hands and set down by the sink. Vanessa's hand then slips into her own and squeezes, pulling her attention away from the teenagers.

"Listen, we've got to get our stuff packed up for going over the road later." Vanessa gestures to the ceiling with her head. "Why don't we go and do that now, eh? Give these two a bit of peace?"

"Sounds good to me," Sarah pitches in.

"I bet it does," Charity says, allowing Vanessa to pull her in the direction of the stairs anyway. She points at Sarah and then at Danny. "We'll just be upstairs and the door will be left open. So no funny business, right?"

"Oh, as if." Sarah rolls her eyes but Charity doesn't miss the smile she gives Vanessa as they pass by. She makes sure to give Danny a final warning glare before going up the stairs. As they reach the top, Charity can still just make out the conversation.

"I've never met anyone whose granny has a girlfriend before." There's a slight pause. "That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, they're alright when they're not being weirdos."

"Hear that, babe?" Charity whispers, as they make their way to Vanessa's old bedroom, where they've been staying during the confinement. "We're '_alright'_."

"High praise," Vanessa says, closing the bedroom door and leaning back against it.

"Hey. I told them the door would be left open!" Charity protests.

"Yeah, and I told them we needed to pack." She nods to a hold-all sat by the bed. "I did it earlier. Boys' stuff an'all."

Charity tilts her head. "Oh. So you've lured me up here under false pretences, have you?" She throws herself on the bed, on top of the covers, resting her head in her hand and looking at Vanessa from beneath her lashes. "And what are you planning to do with me?"

Vanessa shakes her head, smiling. "Not _that_." She comes closer, leaning her knees against the bottom of the bed.

Sticking out her lower lip, Charity lets her head drop to the pillow. "Well, that's disappointing."

"Yep. Shift over." Vanessa says, clambering up the bed beside her and flopping down so their shoulders are pressed together. She lets out a contented sigh and closes her eyes.

Charity turns on her side, observing Vanessa's face. She nudges her. "We've had some good times in this room, haven't we?"

Without opening her eyes, Vanessa smiles. "Yeah. Quite a few."

Sliding her hand across Vanessa's belly, Charity pulls them closer together, settling her head next to Vanessa's on the pillow. "All that sneaking about, trying not to get caught off Leyla, d'you remember?"

Vanessa laughs, opening her eyes and turning to face Charity. "Leyla knew, Charity. You weren't exactly a ninja about it."

"Oh." Charity frowns; she thought she'd been pretty stealthy. "Really?"

Poking Charity's nose, Vanessa shakes her head. "Well, she found one of your bras in the bread bin, for starters."

"How'd she know it was mine?" Charity challenges. "Could've just as easily been yours."

Vanessa's eyes flit away. "Probably because she asked me if it was yours and I went bright red."

Charity nods. "Right. So it was less about my lack of ninja skills and more about your lack of lying skills."

"Possibly." Vanessa snuggles closer, her hand creeping up the back of Charity's jumper. "You know, all that stuff was fun, but this is much better, don't you think?"

"What is? Hiding in your sister's spare room while my grandkid is snogging the face off that lad downstairs?" Charity rolls her eyes, but hugs Vanessa closer. "Yeah, miles better."

"You know what I mean," Vanessa counters. "Being together, properly." She leans in, rubbing her nose against Charity's. "Forever."

Charity smiles. "Yeah. I bet you didn't realise that fumble in the cellar would end up with you being saddled with me for life, eh?"

"I'm not _saddled _with you," Vanessa protests. "I wish you'd stop saying things like that." She rolls over so she's lying on top of Charity, looking down at her. "And no, I didn't have a clue where that night would lead. But if I'd known you then like I know you now, there's nothing in the world I'd have wanted more, Charity." She shakes her head. "I don't know how many more ways I can say this, but you have made my life so much better. Being with you it's...it's everything I never dared to wish for."

Charity sucks in a breath; these declarations from Vanessa still feel like a punch in the chest, stealing all the air and bloodflow from her body for a moment. She shoves her hands in Vanessa's back pockets.

"Wishing's overrated, babe," Charity murmurs, to cover up any grit that may have got caught in her throat. "I've wished for the wrong things all my life."

"Sometimes we don't know what we've been missing till we find it, yeah?" Vanessa leans down and kisses her, long and slow, only pulling away enough to whisper against her lips. "Like that, I couldn't live without kissing you now I've tried it."

"Lucky you're marrying me, then." Charity urges her back into another kiss, bringing her leg up between Vanessa's. "Kisses on tap."

"Oi, you," Vanessa says, smiling against her mouth, squeezing Charity's thigh between her own to halt her movements. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" Charity asks, widening her eyes. "I'm not doing anything."

"Liar," Vanessa drops a firm kiss on her lips, rolling off Charity so they're side by side again. Charity immediately follows, reversing their previous position and grinning down at Vanessa.

"C'mon, babe," she cajoles. "You _did _say I could feel you up wherever I wanted when I was better, yeah?"

Vanessa raises her eyebrows. "I expected you to pick somewhere a _bit_ more exotic than my old bedroom."

"Yeah, well." Charity peppers kisses along Vanessa's jaw. "Al fresco sex has its place, but Yorkshire in the Autumn isn't it."

Laughing, Vanessa shakes her head. "Agreed."

Charity winks, nipping at Vanessa's chin with her teeth. "Anyway, play your cards right and I'll be hiding in your bu-"

A knock at the doors startles both of them, enough that Charity ends up sprawled on her back with her hand over her heart as they turn to the source of the noise.

"Who is it?" Vanessa calls.

"Who d'you think?" Sarah says, and her eyeroll is almost audible through the door. "Can I come in or are you doing stuff in there that I _really_ don't want to see?"

Vanessa sits up and flattens out the covers while Charity hides a smile. She bends and yanks the hold-all onto the bed, unzipping it so it looks like they've been packing. Charity just puts her hands behind her head and leans back on the pillows.

"Of course you can come in, love!" Vanessa says, pulling her ponytail tighter.

The door opens and Sarah pokes her head in, assessing the situation. Seemingly satisfied there's no debauchery underway, she comes fully into the room, grinning.

"Where's the reprobate?" Charity asks, scowling when Vanessa slaps her shin.

"If you mean Danny, he's had to go home for his tea." Sarah bounces a little. "But he said he'd like to see me again."

"That's brilliant!" Vanessa turns and nods to Charity, indicating that she should agree. "Isn't it, Charity?"

"Oh, yeah, brilliant." Charity rolls her eyes, but sits up. Her conversation with Sarah the previous day still plays on her mind, and she sobers. "No, babe, if you like him and you want to see him again, then I'm pleased for you." She tries to smile. "Maybe next time he can come for tea, yeah? Unless you think Noah and the little monsters will frighten him off?"

"If the two of you didn't frighten him off, I think he'll be fine with the boys," Sarah says, and the mischief in her eyes warms Charity's heart, even as she pretends to be offended. "I'll ask, about tea, I mean, and let you know if he can come."

"One extra mouth to feed won't make any difference in that mad house," Vanessa says, smiling. "I'm glad you had a nice time with him."

Sarah nods. She tugs at the ends of her sleeves, looking at the floor. "And, uh, thanks." She meets Charity's eyes, then Vanessa's. "You know, for getting in touch with him again. That was pretty cool, so…"

"No problem," Vanessa says, getting up and moving over to squeeze Sarah's shoulder. "But...could you maybe tell Noah that you think I'm cool? Because he says I'm not."

Both Sarah and Charity laugh at this request. "Babe, she never said _you _were cool. She just said what we did was cool. There's a difference."

"Oh." Vanessa nods, her cheeks tinged with pink. "Yeah, no, I know. That's fine."

Sarah relents. "You're not bad, for Grannies." She ducks as Charity chucks a pillow at her, running out of the room and clattering down the stairs.

Vanessa picks the pillow up and carries it over to the bed, sitting down beside Charity. "So, we did good, then?"

Draping an arm around Vanessa's shoulders, Charity presses a kiss to her temple. "Yeah, I think we maybe did." She puts her lips next to Vanessa's ear. "And, for the record, _I _think you're pretty cool."

"Really?" Vanessa turns to face her with surprised eyes.

Charity sucks in a breath and holds it, biting her lip. She shakes her head. "No, not really." She shrugs. "But I love you anyway." Leaning in, she kisses Vanessa's pout until it melts into a smile.


End file.
